The Art of the Brand Story: How NVIDIA Shaped the Future of Technology Through Storytelling
As Marc Benioff so aptly put it, “The only constant in the technology industry is change.” In such a dynamic competitive environment, tech companies that position themselves as cutting-edge innovators may struggle to retain their brand reputation in the inevitable situation when a competitor is a step ahead.
The technology companies that thrive in a time where Silicon Valley is plagued by mass layoffs are those that build their brand story around something more stable. NVIDIA is proof that storytelling might just be the secret ingredient to a future-proof tech business.
NVIDIA’s Success Story: From Graphics to AI
NVIDIA, a company known for its graphics processing units and for leading the charge with AI (artificial intelligence), recently made headlines as the third company in the US to obtain a market capitalization of $2 trillion. It has come a long way since its inception in 1993 as a company on a mission to bring 3D graphics to gaming. So how did NVIDIA successfully pivot from 3D graphics to GPUs (graphic processing units) to AI to creating a digital twin of the Earth?
It created a brand story that both:
a)Allows NVIDIA to step out of the race to develop the next biggest thing.
b)Provides it with the flexibility to pivot and pursue new opportunities as they arise.
NVIDIA’s branding positions the company as “tackling challenges no-one else can solve.” This is a call to arms that investors, employees, and consumers can get behind, yet it remains vague enough to allow NVIDIA to pursue projects in robotics, AI, gaming, HPC, creative design, and autonomous vehicles.
The Power of Storytelling: Building a $2 Trillion Brand
While NVIDIA seems to be going all in on AI, it has not lost sight of the human elements needed for success. After all, it is humans who invest in tech companies, develop the solutions, and buy the products.
The only problem is it can be difficult to get people excited about technology. Not everyone is going to understand the groundbreaking work you are doing or why you are doing it. That is where storytelling comes in. Storytelling has been used to capture the hearts and minds of people since the dawn of time. In the past, storytelling was used as a vehicle to pass on knowledge, then to teach morals and impart societal values. Today, it is used as a vehicle to provide that human connection that is otherwise missing for large corporations.
NVIDIA and other successful tech companies leverage the power of storytelling to create a brand that resonates with the right people. In NVIDIA’s case, it has created a brand story around moving humanity forward and solving the problems and challenges that no one else can solve. This is an attractive narrative to buy into, even more so when backed by NVIDIA’s track record.
A Track Record of Innovation
NVIDIA’s work speaks for itself, and it knows it. It doesn’t have to tell people that NVIDIA is an innovator, leveraging AI to drive multiple industries forward. Its branding puts its successes front and center so people can come to that obvious conclusion themselves. Or, as your high school English teachers used to say, “Show, don’t tell.”
Another thing that is apparent in NVIDIA’s branding is that it is proud of its roots. NVIDIA reference its origins often and still does a lot of work in gaming technology. It strengthens the brand story of evolving technology and driving humanity forward across the board.
In addition to creating a brand story that creates a visible thread between its past, present, and future, NVIDIA uses its brand story as a tool to plan its next steps. This results in a cohesive, discernible track record that investors, employees, and customers can trust.
Tailoring the Brand Story to Capture Each Audience
While the underlying themes and message of your brand story will speak to the right people across the board, different stakeholders will have different interests and priorities connected to that message. For example, an investor will interpret the value in the brand story in one way, and an employee may see a completely different value in that same brand story.
This is visible in NVIDIA’s website, where it has tailored the stakeholder-specific pages to speak to those unique values while still keeping the underlying message and brand narrative consistent.
NVIDIA’s career pages speak to its unique “project is boss” ethos that encourages contribution from everyone and an exploration of new ideas and interests. It positions the people who work at NVIDIA as dedicated to “solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
NVIDIA’s investor pages instead speak to its track record of successful projects and the wide variety of industries that use them. (i.e. the large number of paying customers) While it remains true to its brand story, the angle of the investor page is showing that tackling problems that no one else can solve means that people are willing to spend big when the solution does arrive.
By tailoring the brand story in this way, NVIDIA ensures that it remains strong and engaging for all stakeholders.
Lessons from NVIDIA’s Brand Story
You, too, can harness the power of a brand story to focus your audience around a shared mission. Brand stories provide a compelling theme that amplifies your marketing efforts and, if done right, will be picked up by the press when your tech company is the subject of new stories.
Here are 4 lessons from NVIDIA’s brand story that you can apply to your company:
1. Find a brand story that future-proofs your business. It should be focused enough to attract the right people to your brand but open enough to allow you to pursue future opportunities that are outside of your current operations.
2.Use your brand story to create a human connection with your audience. That connection comes from shared values, interests, and concerns. Storytelling allows you to communicate them in a compelling way that rallies your audience behind your work.
3.Show, don’t tell. People prefer to come to their own conclusions rather than being told what to believe. Include proof in your brand story, whether that be through a history of your projects, customer stories, or demonstrations. This is the missing piece that removes significant friction to obtaining buy-in for your brand story.
4.Tailor your brand story to the audience. Once you have a general brand story that works for all stakeholders, consider how the brand story speaks to the priorities and interests of each type of stakeholder. Start with investors, employees, and customers. This tailored brand story can help guide your marketing efforts when you are speaking to one type of stakeholder.
NVIDIA’s storytelling alone didn’t achieve the $2 trillion market capitalization, but it played a significant role in helping the tech company carve its place as a leading AI innovator.
The human brain is wired for storytelling. We glean insights, retain information, and connect with subjects better when presented in story form. That is why large corporations are turning toward storytelling to better engage the people who make them a success.
As NVIDIA continues to innovate, tech companies looking to secure their future should watch how NVIDIA uses its brand story to captivate, inspire, and transform.
